Discover the world of UI design, a subfield of visual design focused on the appearance of digital applications. Learn how acquiring UI design skills will open doors to dynamic careers and provide you with the tools to create evocative, interactive layouts for digital applications.

How to Learn UI Design Online

If you’re just starting to learn a new skill, you can find dozens of tips and resources online; learning UI design is no different.UI design skills are used to build the visual appearance of digital applications such as webpages, user interfaces, and mobile applications. This fast-growing field is a great place for creatives and graphic designers to expand their career options. If you’ve always wanted to learn UI design, there are plenty of options at your fingertips. From free tutorials to live classes, your options are outlined here so you can decide how to learn in a way that works best for you. 

What is UI Design?

UI design is the field of graphic design concerned with how digital applications look and how they communicate information to users. UI designers ensure that a digital application looks appealing and communicates effectively with its audience. UI Designers will create digital assets using graphic design programs and then build layouts and prototypes of those layouts to share for collaboration and testing. UI design pairs closely with UX design. UI designs concern themselves with how the digital application looks, whereas UX Designers concern themselves with how the digital application feels. These two fields work closely enough together that often, one designer will do both.

Visual and graphic design skills are vital to the field of UI design. UI Designers will need to learn how to utilize a variety of different graphic design programs, and they will need to understand theories and philosophies of composition. Images and graphics communicate a large amount of information in a small space, and it is the job of UI Designers to ensure that the information a digital application communicates aligns with the desired message that a client seeks to send. This will mean that UI design focuses heavily on any project's small details, assuring that all design elements come together to communicate ideas effectively. UI design is thus concerned with both the big picture design of a digital application and the visual design of the various individual components that are used to build the appearance of that digital application.

Read more about what UI design is and why you should learn it.

What Can You Do with UI Design?

Training in UI design will help creatives build vibrant and instantly memorable web designs and user interfaces for digital applications. UI Designers can blend text, images, and graphics to create functional and evocative designs using the various design programs. Unlike traditional graphic design projects, UI design projects will let creatives maximize the affordances of the digital canvas they are given, and UI Designers will be able to create digital layouts that communicate effectively and quickly. With so much modern communication happening over the internet, learning UI design is a powerful tool for expressing the interests of oneself and one’s organization.

UI design is also a useful skill for creatives who aren’t necessarily planning to build a career out of their graphic design training but still want to optimize their digital presence or their organization. Given the number of web applications designed to ease the process of web development, individuals can start designing and building digital applications for themselves or their organizations without only a little bit of UI design training. This is a bonus for small businesses, up-and-coming charities or nonprofits, advocacy organizations, and any other interest group that may want to build a web presence but is hesitant to hire professional Web Designers.

Finally, learning UI design can give existing creatives an entirely new medium to express their ideas. While web design is concerned with the functional elements of a digital application, learning UI design will allow artists and designers to build unique installations and projects that would otherwise be impossible to construct in a physical space. While most people receiving UI design training will do so with professionalization, learning how to build assets and art pieces online can give artists a new space to experiment with their creative ideas.

Live Online UI Design Training

For students unable to attend an in-person class, either because they are not located near a training center or simply aren’t located near the training center they would most like to attend, live online training options can be a comparable alternative. These courses maintain many benefits of in-person learning options, particularly those afforded by a live instructor available to answer questions and provide feedback. As a drawback, while students won’t have to commute, they will have to provide their technology, which can be pricey for UI design training if they take courses that will have them learning multiple different graphic design applications.

Noble offers all of its in-person UI design classes through live online class formats. These courses are identical to their in-person versions so that students can take them from the comfort of their own homes. Several other service providers offer similar training options through live online instruction. To see what options are available to you for live online UI design classes, consider checking out Noble’s Classes Near Me tool.

On-Demand UI Design Classes

Work or family obligations may prevent some students from regularly attending a live training course. Instead, these students may enroll in an on-demand training course that offers them the flexibility they need. These courses are self-paced and allow students to speed up or slow down their lessons as their availability allows. The drawback to these courses is that without a live instructor, students may need to do extra work overcoming obstacles in their training that they would otherwise have ample resources to address in a live classroom environment.

On-demand courses are available through several service providers and come in many forms. Some are a series of pre-recorded lectures, while others are independent study modules. Some are purchased as individual courses, while others require users to subscribe to a service platform like SkillShare or LinkedIn. You can compare on-demand UI design classes using Noble’s Classes Near Me tool to learn more about your options.

Free Intro Courses & Tutorials

Interested in learning UI design, but don’t feel like you’re ready to take the plunge into a professional training course? You may be interested in learning some of the basic UI design skills through free online courses and resources. While these courses are unlikely to replace a student's professional training in a UI design bootcamp, they are an ideal place to start learning fundamental UI design skills. 

Noble offers several free introductory courses through its website and official YouTube page. Noble offers a free Intro to UI Design course and a free Intro to Figma course. These courses will cover the basic elements of design philosophy and the basic functions of one of the market's most common UI design tools. These courses can help students become more comfortable with the ideas and programs they will practice during more advanced training courses.

In addition, Noble offers many pre-recorded courses covering web design and development concepts and graphic design concepts on their YouTube page. These video recordings will help students understand tools like Photoshop and Illustrator or design platforms like WordPress. These training options are ideal for students looking to get a taste of the various flavors of graphic design and who aren’t yet confident that UI design is right for them.

Free courses are also available through other professional training services, such as GeneralAssembly, Udemy, and Coursera. Additionally, for individual applications and tools, first-party developers like Adobe and Figma provide users with tutorials and videos instructing new users how to take advantage of their applications.

Read about more free UI design videos and online tutorials.

Comparing Online Methods with In-Person Learning 

There are so many ways to learn UI design skills that some new students may find it overwhelming to choose the one that is right for them. Each course has its advantages and disadvantages, and students should consider their availability, learning preferences, and desired outcomes before enrolling in a course.

In-person training seminars may be ideal for students who want a live learning experience and have the luxury of commuting to a nearby campus. These classes give students hands-on experience working with UI design programs under the supervision of expert instructors who can help them learn the skills they need to succeed professionally. Students will also have the advantage of working with like-minded colleagues and networking with instructors and students. In addition, most in-person courses will furnish students with the hardware and software they need to practice UI design principles.

Live online training seminars are well-suited for students who wish to take a real-time training seminar but aren’t located where they can commute to a training campus. Live online courses retain all the benefits associated with having a trained expert instructor guiding your learning, as they will still be present to answer questions, provide feedback, and offer advice on design theories and principles. As an added bonus, students learning in a live online environment can choose from a much wider variety of courses and instructional styles.

On-demand training courses may be the best option for students whose schedule requires that they have an added element of flexibility in their UI design training. These courses let students control their learning pace and can be ideal for students with inconsistent schedules or other obligations preventing them from attending regularly scheduled classes. Students will be required to do more independent work outside the classroom, but this can be a boon for some designers.

Free training options and video tutorials are available for students looking to become comfortable with a program or field of study. These resources are ideal for students looking to get their feet wet with a subject like UI design before enrolling in a more detailed training course. However, these courses will necessarily be cursory, so most students will need more dedicated training if they hope to use their UI design skills professionally.

Tips to Succeed when Learning UI Design Online

Learning a new skill online can be daunting for students who aren’t used to online learning. While online training courses aren’t inferior to in-person instruction, students must consider different environmental issues as they undertake UI design training. Students will have to control their learning environment, learn how to troubleshoot obstacles as they arise, maintain their workstations, and find alternate ways to collaborate on design projects.

One of the most significant differences between in-person and online learning is that in-person learning takes place in a classroom designed to minimize outside interference in a student’s training. When learning online, students must control their learning environment and ensure that it is suited for their needs. This won’t be an issue for some students, as outside distractions do not impact them. Other students may need to assert more control over where they are learning, who is in the same space as they are, and how much other distractions like noise are present. Students may also need to monitor their behavior during an online course, as many students find it easier to attempt to multitask while taking an online course.

Students must also maintain their workstations and provide hardware and software for their training. This means having a working computer that can both run the online seminar and run all of the software applications required for the course. Beyond this, students will have to learn how to troubleshoot technical issues, and they will need to learn how to do outside research to answer their own questions if the need arises. While many online courses are taught by live instructors who help students outside of the classroom (or in an on-demand class), students may need to find their answers to problems, which is a skill in and of itself.

Finally, for UI design, students may need to learn alternate ways to collaborate with colleagues and test their designs. Testing designs and iterating on them individually and as part of a team are vital aspects of UI design. Students will need to prepare themselves for performing these tasks remotely if they plan to enroll in an online course (especially if it is an on-demand course). Many courses will build this into their learning outcomes, but students must take the initiative if they do not.

Key Takeaways

• UI design is a rapidly growing field of visual design concerned with building the visual appearance of digital applications. Students looking to learn UI design online have many options available to them.
• Online UI design training is available through live instruction and on-demand, asynchronous training. These are fairly different training options, so students should consider their differences before enrolling.
• There are free training resources available to learn the basics of UI design. However, they are cursory by nature, meaning that students looking to learn UI design for their careers will need more professional training.
• There are significant differences between in-person and online training that students should prepare for if they want to succeed. Students should think deeply about the set-up of their workstations, how they will maintain their technology, and how they can research and answer questions that arise.
• For students looking for comprehensive online UI design training, Noble Desktop offers enough courses that any student can find the right fit for them.

Learn UI Design with Hands-on Training at Noble Desktop

Once students have committed to learning UI design, they can receive hands-on training in one of the many UI design classes offered through Noble Desktop. These courses, available both in-person at Noble’s Manhattan campus and online, provide students with career-focused skills training in an industry-recognized educational environment. Students will benefit from working with live instructors who can answer their questions, provide feedback, and help them overcome any learning challenges they encounter. Even online, Noble’s classes boast small class sizes so that students can receive individual attention from their instructors. Plus, Noble offers free retake options, meaning that a student can re-enroll in a completed course within one year to receive additional training, review material, or just get a bit more hands-on UI design experience.

Students looking to learn the basics of UI design may wish to consider enrolling in Noble’s UI Design Bootcamp. This course will provide students with hands-on experience, using practical examples, designing the appearance of web pages and mobile applications. Students will receive training in the basic theories of composition and design and one-on-one feedback from expert instructors on the make-up of their UI design projects. This course is ideal for students hoping to learn the ins and outs of how to apply their existing knowledge of visual design tools to the process of building digital applications. Students who wish to enroll in this course should have a working knowledge of the user experience design tool Figma. Students looking for this training can enroll in Noble’s Figma Bootcamp.

Noble offers a UI Design Certificate program for students who want a more career-focused learning experience that will teach students all of the important fundamental skills they will need to enter the workforce as UI design specialists. Students will learn theories of composition and design and how to apply those theories of design to web pages and digital applications. In addition, students will learn how to use design tools like Figma, Adobe Photoshop, and Illustrator. This course caps off with a series of lessons concerning how to build a design portfolio to take onto the job market. With portfolio design training, one-on-one career mentorship, and the reception of an industry-recognized skills certificate, this course is ideal for students looking to build new careers in UI design.